KARACHI, Feb 8: A special court for control of narcotic substances sentenced on Tuesday a drug peddler to life imprisonment.

Judge Sanaullah Khan Ghoury of the Special CNS Court-II pronounced his judgment after recording statements of witnesses and final arguments from both sides.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs500,000 and in case of non-payment the convict would have to undergo an additional two-year imprisonment.

The prosecution and the defence examined two witnesses each. “I have minutely examined the prosecution evidence and the defence evidence in juxtaposition and the evidence of two prosecution witnesses appears to be consistent and trustworthy, as there is no enmity of the excise police officials with the accused and was not previously know to the excise police prior to the present incident,” the judge wrote in the verdict.

The court observed that the accused was a drug trafficker as huge quantity of hashish was recovered from the secret cavities of the truck container driven by him and he had full knowledge about the secret cavities of the vehicle.

Though the accused had taken the plea that he was picked up in Surjani Town, the verdict stated that he took the defence plea without any substantial proof.

“In the instant case both the witnesses have fully supported the prosecution case and a lengthy cross-examination was conducted but no material discrepancy was pointed out by the defence lawyer,” it concluded. The judge also ruled that the case property (1,750kg hashish) might be confiscated and disposed of in accordance with the law after the appeal period.